Department News

For Hubbell, '17, a New Spin Move in Summer Research Project

Zach Hubbell is known for making a twirling motion with his index finger when he scores a goal for the Albion College men's lacrosse team. He scored 39 of them during the spring as Albion won its first league championship. This summer, the twirling is coming from the spinning of a DNA dryer as part of the pre-engineering student's summer research work.

Next Pitch for Rinkinen, '11: Harvard Medical Residency

Jacob Rinkinen, '11, never knew how far writing papers for publication in sociology journals, doing bench research in the chemistry lab and pitching for the baseball team would take him while he was an Albion College double major. Four years later, Rinkinen is a new University of Michigan Medical School graduate who will soon begin a residency in plastic surgery at Harvard University. "I didn't realize how being a student-athlete at Albion would help me through medical school," he says.

Sanders, '15, Wraps Undergraduate Research Career at Oak Ridge

"During my time at Albion I have gained numerous research experiences, from an Albion College FURSCA project in Ireland to a summer fellowship at the University of Wisconsin and an internship at BASF," the senior chemistry and mathematics major writes. This past fall, the 2014-2015 Goldwater Scholar completed another internship, at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. "I want to earn a doctorate in chemistry and this gives me another invaluable research experience with a national laboratory."

For Samson, '15, Career Options Run Wide After Green-Tech Project

As an Albion College senior cross country runner, Michelle Samson is used to taking a few turns on the course en route to the finish line. Thanks to her work this summer on a nanontechnology project addressing water filtration—sponsored by chemistry professor Kevin Metz and the College's Foundation for Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity—the biochemistry major from Allen Park may have altered the course of her career as well.